


Don't Threaten the Beholder

by Starren_Moonstone



Series: Collections from The Journalist - Whumptober Edition [17]
Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: Blackmail, Gen, I did Not see that coming, Threats, Whumptober 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-19
Updated: 2020-10-19
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:34:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 554
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27102769
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Starren_Moonstone/pseuds/Starren_Moonstone
Summary: Taelyn gets blackmailed and has no idea why.
Relationships: Taelyn Eldfors/Moira Bramwell
Series: Collections from The Journalist - Whumptober Edition [17]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1947499
Kudos: 1





	Don't Threaten the Beholder

**Author's Note:**

> Whumptober Day 17: "I Did Not See That Coming" - Blackmail

May 24th, 2016

“I thought that everyone you interviewed consented to doing so?” Moira asks once Taelyn is done reading out-loud the letter they just received. It is not a very long letter, but it does get to the heart of the issue. 

“Mostly, yes. And in this case, this person did consent.” Taelyn puts the letter on the table, that Cam immediately snatches up. “So you see my problem, right?”

Cam quickly reads over it again. “Do you really think this person has something that can hurt you?” Cam asks, and eyebrow raised. “I mean, the three of us can do some heavy damage, and if we let Ven loose…” Cam grins for a moment.

“The issue becomes that I don’t know what this person has on me,” Taelyn admits, “I don’t talk about my personal life. And my name itself has nothing that can be traced to anyone I’m trying to protect. If it’s just dirt on you all here, I wouldn’t be so concerned.”

“It’s not like your other friends are helpless,” Ven states with a dulled tone. 

“It’s not them I’m thinking about,” Taelyn admits, “It’s my family that I would like to keep out of this.”

“Your client has no reason to believe your name is anything else, would she?” Moira asks.

Taelyn shakes their head.

“So, I really don’t see what you have to fear from this.”

“I’d feel better figuring out why she would blackmail me,” Taelyn muses, going over to their collection of files and pulling out one for Karen Wilson. 

“Besides her being a Karen?” Cam asks, an eyebrow raised.

“Besides that,” Taelyn waves the thought away. 

Astra, who has been quiet this whole time, stands up and looks over Taelyn’s shoulder at the file. “Maybe she said something that she thinks you’ll use against her,” Astra suggests, “These people do just spill their guts out at you.”

“Most of it is about their deepest fears. It’s not like she gave you her credit card number,” Cam says.

Taelyn skims through their notes of the interview. It’s a Spiral one, concerning a smart car getting out of control and trapping the woman in there for a very long time. At first glance, nothing is there that could be criminalizing… and then Taelyn grins. “Oh… she did not.” They circle their notes so that finding the section will be easier later, and close the file. “Looks like our Karen stole a car.”

“Stop!” Cam says, their face smiling in disbelief. “She didn’t.”

“Well, apparently the license plate is important enough to share. I’m guessing that the car was stole from someone in her life. A friend, probably. Or a lover…”

Moira shakes their head and Ven starts laughing a mechanical laughter. “You have the advantage now, I believe,” Moira states.

“Enough to get the ball back into my court,” Taelyn grins, and takes out their phone. They look up at Moira, who has come over to Taelyn’s side. “Should I gloat?”

“Maybe wait until you have whatever blackmail she has,” Moira suggests, “Unless you want to play with fire.”

Taelyn chuckles a little, grinning broadly.

“Get a room,” Cam says, rolling their eyes and walking out of the room. Astra still stays at the table, though they do turn their focus elsewhere with a sly grin.

**Author's Note:**

> If you like what you read and want to learn more and keep up with this content, I have a tumblr set up. beholdingwriter.tumblr.com I'll be posting up the stories on there, as well as answering questions about the characters involved in this collection of stories.


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